What does Mike Tomlin call it, the hot AFC North kitchen? Something like that.
Sunday, Joe Burrow learned that when you’re in Pittsburgh and the oven’s on, something’s wrong. And he was just the latest young quarterback to find that out in this division.
This time a year ago, as the Steelers were sending the Cincinnati Bengals to an 0-11 start on their home field, a light smattering of fans — back when a full crowd was permitted — sat in the upper deck of Paul Brown Stadium with a “LET’S GROW WITH JOE” sign draped over a banister. As it turned out, they got their wish, drafting the Heisman Trophy-hoisting, LSU-leading national championship-winning with the first overall pick to be their new franchise quarterback — an Athens, Ohio, native to boot.
And yet, Burrow’s first opportunity to face the Steelers was just another growing pain.
“I think it’s very important to welcome quarterbacks in the AFC North the appropriate way,” said Steelers pass-rusher T.J. Watt, not cracking even the slightest of grins. “Scoring points like that and holding the offense the way we did, we try to do that to the best of our ability. We know Joe Burrow is their franchise quarterback and we’re just trying to let him know what he can expect when he comes to Pittsburgh.”
You can throw out all that stuff about the Steelers offense scoring points, T.J. Sure, Ben Roethlisberger showed that he can still get the job done as the eldest statesman of this division, what with his 333 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions.
But it was what’s arguably the NFL’s most ferocious defense that held Burrow to 213 yards and one touchdown on 21-of-40 passing while sacking him four times for a loss of 28 yards. Burrow has had worse games as he tries to keep a 2-6-1 team afloat in his rookie year, but he was coming off his best back-to-back performances with 655 yards and five touchdowns in a close loss to the Browns and win over the Titans.
At least Burrow didn’t throw an interception in this one. A takeaway was about the only thing missing for a Steelers defense that also hit him nine times, four by Watt alone to go with his two sacks. Yes, it’s safe to say they introduced Burrow to this once red-hot rivalry.
“One thousand percent,” said Steelers cornerback Joe Haden. “It was more of a respect factor, too. Joe Burrow’s a great young quarterback and we know he’s going to be in our division for a very, very long time, so we kind of wanted to set the tone with him.”
Burrow came into his first meeting with the Steelers as the league’s leader in pass attempts per game, a sure sign that the Bengals are already giving him the keys to the car. A relatively mobile pocket-passer, he also had three rushing touchdowns entering Sunday, but did not have a single rushing attempt on a dreary day at Heinz Field.
In the end, the Steelers improved to 63-32-3 as a franchise and 22-10 under Tomlin against quarterbacks picked No. 1 overall and have now won 14 in a row against them at home. One of those was just a few weeks ago against Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield, who’s 1-3 against the Steelers overall.
A few years ago, Steelers-Bengals had hard-hitting and vitriol on both sides. Before that, it had a formidable foe in the opposing pocket in Carson Palmer. Cincinnati went through a 2-14 season to get to Burrow, who will hope to make this meeting competitive again.
“We didn’t want him to just think he was going to be playing Pittsburgh and just throwing it up wherever he wanted to, running all around,” Haden said. “But we know he’s going to be a very, very good talent. They believe in him, and they have every right to. We just wanted to make sure we put pressure on him and never let him get comfortable knowing that he’s going to be playing against us for a long time.”
Eleven consecutive losses to the Steelers can’t be erased overnight, but Burrow figures to be the first Bengals quarterback to beat them since Andy Dalton in 2015. He took just about all the blame for this loss, disappointed in himself for not hitting on throws he usually makes.
It was the same story as his last road trip in the AFC North, a 27-3 loss in Baltimore when he had just 183 yards passing and no touchdowns with one interception. Burrow called this loss not one that’s “demoralizing” for his team, though he thought they had a chance to win. He also shrugged off a question about the Steelers hitting him late, responding that they did a good job of holding him up or not falling on him after the play.
“It’s never good to lose like this, but it’s always a good learning experience,” Burrow said. “I think we’re in that game if I don’t suck in the second half, and I’m not going to suck a lot.”
Injury updates
The only Steelers player who suffered an injury during the game was running back Trey Edmunds, who could not finish after injuring his hamstring. Edmunds was signed to the 53-man roster during the week to take the place of tight end Vance McDonald, who was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Edmunds only played on special teams.
The Steelers were without slot cornerback Mike Hilton for a fourth consecutive game due to his shoulder injury. Hilton, who was injured late in the victory against the Browns, had been listed as questionable.
Cameron Sutton continued to be Hilton’s replacement in the slot, forcing a fumble in a third straight game, and Justin Layne was the sixth defensive back when the Steelers played their dime defense against the Bengals. Rookie sixth-round pick Antoine Brooks also made his defensive NFL debut in that sub-package and had two tackles.
The Steelers also were without backup nose tackle Isaiah Buggs, who was out with an ankle injury. The good news for the Steelers was starting nose tackle Tyson Alualu returned after missing most of the Ravens win and last week’s game against the Cowboys with a knee injury. Alualu finished with three stops.
The Steelers also deactivated quarterback Josh Dobbs, running back Anthony McFarland and outside linebacker Jayrone Elliott. McFarland missed Thursday’s and Friday’s practice with an illness.
Second-year tight end Zach Gentry dressed for the first time this season and backed up Eric Ebron with Vance McDonald on the reserve/COVID-19 list, though Gentry was not targeted.
The Bengals were without a number of starters, including defensive tackle Geno Atkins, running back Joe Mixon and offensive lineman Bobby Hart. Quinton Spain, a guard signed off the street a few weeks ago, was elevated from the practice squad and started at right tackle — a position he’d never played before in the NFL. Spain started last season in Buffalo, which released him Oct. 21 after benching him this year.
Jonah Williams, a first-round pick last year, was listed as questionable but did not start at left tackle. Instead the Bengals went with rookie sixth-rounder Hakeem Adeniji. The Bengals also deactivated cornerback LeShaun Sims, kicker Austin Seibert and offensive lineman Keaton Sutherland.
Williamson’s first action
Avery Williamson, who came over from New York in a trade with the Jets two weeks ago Sunday, made his Steelers debut. Williamson had one tackle on the Bengals’ final possession after dressing but not playing a snap last week at Dallas.
Time will tell if Williamson gets more involved in the defense, but for now, he’s mostly been a spectator on the Steelers sideline. Vince Williams and Robert Spillane combined for nine tackles at inside linebacker.
Quick hits
The Steelers recorded at least one sack in their 66th consecutive regular-season game, longest active streak in the NFL and now three shy of the record set by Tampa Bay in 2003. … Steelers outside linebacker Ola Adeniyi forced a fumble on the Bengals’ first punt return of the game, which was recovered by running back Benny Snell; it was Adeniyi’s first of the season and third of his career. … The announced attendance was 5,909, a season high.
Ray Fittipaldo contributed. Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: November 16, 2020, 2:26 a.m.
